Virtual Reality (VR) Simulated Drunk Driving Accident Device Now Available

There are many people who drive drunk on a regular basis.  Some of these people will be in a drunk driving accident at some future point in their lives, and some already have been in one.  Some may be lucky enough to avoid an accident. However, when a person drives drunk, it is hard to appreciate the seriousness of their actions, because that person is viewing everything while being intoxicated.  This not only has physical effects, but also makes people more likely to engage in dangerous behavior like drunk driving.

driving3However, if a person could experience what they are doing when they are driving drunk while sober and be able to appreciate everything, it might make people think twice before getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after having a few too many drinks.

At least that is what the company that owns Johnnie Walker and many other big label alcohol brands are hoping. They have recently worked with a technology company to create a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) device that is capable of simulating a drunk driving accident for sober users, according to a recent news article from USA Today.

The device is called “Decisions” and uses the popular Oculus Rift VR headset along with a D-Box chair.  This is a high tech chair that is designed to be used in conjunction with a cinematic projector that moves in response to what is happening on the screen to give the viewer a totally immersive movie experience. In this case, instead of using it for the coolest home theater ever, they are using it to simulate a very scary drunk driving accident in hopes that it will dissuade a person from ever choosing to get behind the wheel drunk and possibly experiencing the real thing.

When the user puts the headset on and sits in the chair, he or she is given a first person perspective from all three vehicles involved in this drunk driving accident simulation.  This includes a group of teens headed to a party, one woman celebrating a big promotion at work, and married couple who is having their night out without their newborn child.  At the end of the four-minute ride, at least some of these people will be dead and the user will have gotten to experience this horrific drunk driving accident first hand from the various different perspectives.

For a company that makes all of its money from selling alcoholic beverages to spend 20 percent of its annual advertising budget on safe driving promotion shows just how serious a problem drunk driving has become.  While the users of this VR simulator will get to walk away from this experience a bit wiser, our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers regularly deal with victims who will never be able to walk again, or their families in the case of a fatal drunk driving such as the one portrayed in the VR simulation.  Our attorneys have seen the aftermath of many drunk driving accidents and see what the results can be while fighting for a full and appropriate financial compensation.

If you or someone you love has been injured a Boston drunk driving accident, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

‘Die’ in a drunken-driving accident, via a terrifying VR experience, November 17, 2016, By Edward C. Baig, USA Today

More Blog Entries:

Report: Drunk Driving Crash at Daytona International Speedway, April 9, 2016, Boston DUI Accident Lawyer Blog

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